Hesket, Cumbria

Hesket is a large civil parish in Eden District, Cumbria, England. It was formed in 1934 by a County Review Order which merged the civil parishes of Hesket-in-the-Forest and Plumpton Wall.

Villages in the parish

Within the parish are the villages and hamlets of High Hesket, Old Town, Low Hesket, Aiketgate, Armathwaite, Plumpton, Plumpton Street, Plumpton Foot, Ivegill (part), Calthwaite, Petteril Green, Southwaite, Morton and Thiefside. (The settlement of Plumpton Head is within the neighbouring unparished area of Penrith.) There are primary schools at Plumpton, Calthwaite, Armathwaite, Ivegill and High Hesket, and roughly half way between High and Low Hesket is a doctor's surgery.

Transport

The West Coast Main Line (WCML) and Settle and Carlisle Railway both run through the parish with a station at Armathwaite. At one time there were stations on the WCML at Plumpton, Southwaite and Calthwaite. The M6 motorway and the A6 road run parallel to each other through the parish with a motorway service area at Southwaite.

Places of interest

At Castlesteads or Old Penrith just north of Plumpton are the remains of a Roman Fort known as Voreda.

In the Middle Ages the area was the heart of the Royal hunting ground known as Inglewood Forest.

The village and former market town of Hesket Newmarket is not within Hesket parish and is situated about 10 miles (16 km) to the west and within Caldbeck parish in Allerdale borough.